


Gamble for Inspiration

by Remmy-Free (Remembrance)



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Restaurant, Artists, Chefs, Cooking, Dysfunctional Family, Inspiration, M/M, Taking Risks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-02
Updated: 2014-11-29
Packaged: 2018-02-23 15:13:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2552189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Remembrance/pseuds/Remmy-Free
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When you somehow get a stranger fired from their job, you owe them one. Two, if you can find another way they can help you out. And, three, if they end up paying for the date that follows.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Heya~ So this fic is all written, just going through editing/beta stages. I'm trying a hand at doing an update system, so new chapters every Saturday! If it works out, I might do it for bigger fics too! This is a little RinHaru five-parter. I love writing these idiots so much, XD. I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Special thanks to ThBlackFlame for beta'ing this chapter.

 The wine glass shattered. “Fuck!”  
   
 “Haru?”  
   
 Haruka huffed through his nose as he carefully grabbed a chunk of the glass. “Sorry,” he muttered, voice returning to its usual low. He tossed a piece of glass in the trash then held up the broken stem. He tossed that, as well, in the trash and grabbed a duster for the smaller pieces. He glanced over to Makoto.  
   
 Makoto wore dark navy jeans; they were prim and proper, passing for semi-formal. His belt hooped around his waist was dark brown, and his shirt was a buttoned-up black shirt, collar popped at one of his boyfriend’s request. He closed his eyes, tilting his head ever so slightly, and smiled. “It’s okay, Haru. We’re getting rid of that set anyway.”  
   
 “We are?” Haruka glanced at the glasses and then shrugged.  
   
 “Yep.” Makoto walked over and grabbed a couple dishes from the dishwasher. He noticed Haruka’s annoyed frown, but just kept smiling. “Let me help. I don’t mind.”  
   
 “Get someone else to help me.”  
   
 “I sent them off.” Makoto put the plates overhead. “We’re almost all done here, anyway. I figure I could get the rest done myself.”  
   
 A sigh from a third person made them both pause, albeit for only a quarter of a second.  
   
 Makoto kept his smile on, even if it wasn’t as true as before.  
   
 Haruka on the other hand made no attempt to hide his frown.  
   
 “Makoto, Makoto, Makoto.” Sousuke leaned against the fridge, on the far side of the kitchen. “The owner isn’t supposed to do the peasant work. You’re at the top of the chain of command.”  
   
 “Nothing wrong with helping out,” Makoto countered. “Plus, everyone is working hard.”  
   
 Sousuke crossed his arms, glaring.  
   
 Haruka grabbed the mugs that were only used for the dessert menu. He went around the table, where the large overhead fan was at eye level—obstructing their sight of one another.  
   
 Of course the simple act wasn’t lost on Sousuke. Sousuke just cocked his head. “Haru, any progress?”  
   
 “He’s taking his time,” Makoto answered for him. “Inspiration isn’t an easy thing.”  
   
 “I warned you,” Sousuke used _that_ voice, “I warned you against a profession that needs creativity, didn’t I?  
   
 Haruka huffed. “Shut it.”  
   
 “Haru,” Makoto whispered.  
   
 Haruka made eye contact with his best friend. His mouth soured, tasting like ash. He knew Makoto was only trying to keep the peace, but he wanted him to have his back. “Sousuke. Get out.”  
   
 “Because I’m right?”  
   
 Haruka grabbed a rag and began cleaning the stainless steel countertop.  
   
 “Haru—”  
   
 “Sousuke,” Makoto cut him off. How the gentleness in his voice could stop anyone in their tracks was still a mystery to everyone. Including Makoto. “Even if Haru doesn’t think of anything, our balance is doing amazing. We’ve had lots of profits and funds, and our balance is amazing. You said that to me yourself.”  
   
 “Yeah.” Sousuke stepped forward. “But I also told you that if you don’t use your profits to get ahead, you’ll fall behind.”  
   
 “Ah, yeah.” Makoto smiled. “But we have time. Pressure doesn’t help anyone, Sousuke.”  
   
 “People work best under pressure.”  
   
 Haruka grabbed a spatula. Instead of putting it neatly in the metal cylinder with the rest of them, he smashed it in and the entire thing fell over.  
   
 Makoto’s green eyes lingered over him for a moment before moving back to Sousuke. “Maybe for your line of work, but I think you should leave.”  
   
 Sousuke shrugged, uncrossing his arms as he walked to the door. “If you keep coddling him—”  
   
 “Shut up!” Haruka yelled loud enough that they both jumped.  
   
 Sousuke shook his head. “Fine.”  
   
 Makoto sighed, watching him leave. “I don’t know why he has to do that _every time_.”  
   
 “You know why,” Haruka uttered.  
   
 “Your mom has nothing to do with it.”  
   
 “To him it does.”  
   
 “But it isn’t related. No matter how Sousuke sees it, it’s not related. I know… he has a warped way of thinking, but he’s looking out for you. Or, he thinks that’s what he’s doing.”  
   
 Haruka grumbled, grabbing another set of plates. “Why does he bother?”  
   
 “He’s just trying to be a good big brother.”  
   
 Haruka didn’t reply.  
   
 Makoto didn’t expect him to. He leaned back on one of the counters and an exhausted sigh left his lips. “I disagree with him and his methods and what he thinks a hundred percent, but try to understand he’s just trying to look out for you. Try not to be mad.”  
   
 Haruka put the plates where they went and sighed.  
   
 “Enough about him.” Makoto looked down. “What do you think of this shirt?”  
   
 Haruka paused, glancing to Makoto. “Good. Really good.”  
   
 “Really good, huh?” Makoto laughed as he tried to use a bedroom voice, “Is it… sexy?”  
   
 Haruka rolled his eyes.  
   
 Makoto burst out laughing. “Sorry! I can’t help it. I’m just still shocked Nagisa said that. I mean, me? Sexy?”  
   
 “You are, even if you don’t think so.”  
   
 “Wow. I must have been the biggest disappointment he’s ever had.” Makoto grinned. “Probably to Rei too, huh?”  
   
 “You’re like the sexual version of a heart-breaker.”  
   
 “Oh geez…” Makoto half-laughed half-giggled. “That’s not good. I’m the ultimate boner-breaker?”  
   
 “You can’t change who you are,” Haru muttered. “Don’t feel guilty.”  
   
 “I don’t.” Makoto’s eyes softened. “Nagisa makes me repeat it every week: ‘Asexual and proud!’ and all that…”  
   
 Haruka graced his best friend with one of his rare smiles, as small as it was. “Thanks… for earlier.”  
   
 “Oh, Sousuke? Yeah… He’s just, doing what he knows. He knows numbers, and deadlines, financial statements… but he’s missing something too. There’s so much more to life. And, you know, inspiration probably comes from whatever it is he’s missing.”  
   
 Haruka snorted.  
   
 “I’m serious, Haru.”  
   
 “I just…” Haruka grabbed the last dish and closed the dishwasher with his foot. “Can’t do it.”  
   
 “You can, Haru.”  
   
 “No, I can’t.” Haruka turned, glaring. “I’m a chef because I cook, not because I design dishes. I can’t make you a new menu.”  
   
 “You’re also an artist…”  
   
 “No.”  
   
 “You do sketches!”  
   
 “Sketches. Doodles.” Haruka’s glare intensified. “Not an artist.”  
   
 “Haru.” Makoto chuckled. “The way you work with seafood is a work of art. Just ask Rei, he screams ‘Beautiful!’ whenever you do anything, really. The way you blend flavours and mix aromas is not just being a chef… and I know, right now, you don’t know what to do, but that’s totally okay. We only need a couple new items, maybe change some of the older recipes a bit… but that’s totally okay. Sousuke just gave me all the reports on our finances and we are doing great.”  
   
 “But.” Haruka’s eyes narrowed as he looked away. “Rei said…”  
   
 “I know. I know.” Makoto’s smile didn’t falter. “A lot of other restaurants are opening around here, so we have to find a way to keep being the best in the area. I get that. But don’t stress, okay?”  
   
 “Makoto—”  
   
 “Ah, ah, ah!” Makoto raised a hand. “Let me finish.”  
   
 Haruka pursed his lips.  
   
 “This restaurant has to be better, in more than just one way. Yes, we have to spice up the menu a little, but there’s more. We need better drinks, especially on our coffee and dessert menu, and we have to improve service as well. We need stronger communication between different people on the floor, too. There’s also lighting and ambiance, maybe live music? I was thinking about setting a stage on the far side, opposite the window? I don’t know how the acoustics will work, but maybe we can get some instruments there.”  
   
 “But.” Haruka made eye contact. “Then we’d need a musician.”  
   
 “Exactly my point.” Makoto nodded. “See? We can’t just put a piano and have someone play it tomorrow. These things take time, and that’s okay. Same goes for you.”  
   
 Haruka said nothing for a while, but another small smile appeared on his lips.  
   
 “You remember what my dad used to say, right? He told us the first time we started working here… that must have been… twelve years ago?”  
   
 Haruka nodded. “We were fifteen, yeah.”  
   
 Makoto smiled. “So you remember, huh? Every restaurant has five years. First year is when you build it up, second and third year is fine tuning, fourth and fifth year is maximising your earnings, and then you go back—you reinvent the restaurant and start from square one, building it to be better than before. We’ve maximised our earnings, so we have the capital. Right now, and even for a whole while, we’re doing great. So don’t worry.”  
   
 “Makoto… thanks.”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 “So this little midget-shit chicken-shit was going on and on, Haru-chan, crying and sobbing and wailing—so I just cut him off, interrupted him, because we didn’t have any time for it. I just turned to the judge and jury and was just like, ‘Can you believe this bullshit?’. So of course the guy’s lawyer was all ‘Objection!’ and I just looked the judge in the eye – and it’s always important to make eye-contact, Haru-chan – and the judge overruled it!”  
   
 Haruka just sipped his latte, amused. “What happened?”  
   
 Nagisa sighed dramatically, lounging on the comfortable chair of the coffee shop. “I pretty much put a cap in that guy’s _ass._ I had written down all the dates he said, so I just kind of went wild on pointing out all his contradictions. I mean the guy and his lawyer changed the story three times, and it was obvious, but, man… in the courtroom, all you have is your evidence and your reputation. You tarnish your word, and it’s not my fault if I throw you down a flight of stairs and shove a bullet in your dick.”  
   
 Haruka hid his smile behind his coffee mug. “Metaphorically, right?”  
   
 “Duh!” Nagisa grabbed his extra-large cappuccino and drank it in one go. “Then I’d be the one standing on trial, and that’s always bad. Nobody ever trusts a lawyer who has to stand on trial. He could be as innocent as a baby’s balls, but if it’s a lawyer-chan then he’s guilty-chan. Anyway… as much as everyone loves talking about how great I am, enough about me.”  
   
 Haruka’s smile faded.  
   
 “So… what’s new with youuu?”  
   
 He shrugged. “Same old…”  
   
 “Mmm.” Nagisa straightened his back and snatched Haru’s muffin, shoving about half of it in his mouth. With his cheeks full of muffin, he looked like a chipmunk chewing until he swallowed. “So, no luck on the new menu, huh?”  
   
 “There’s… We have two items.”  
   
 “Nice!”  
   
 Haruka shook his head. “Other chefs came up with them. One of them is solid, but the other is a little… boring. It needs a complementing side dish. Or something.”  
   
 Nagisa grabbed Haru’s latte and swirled it with a circular motion of his hand. “And the other one?”  
   
 “Too expensive. Won’t make profit.”  
   
 “Hmmm.” Nagisa chugged the latte in one go. “Substitute something?”  
   
 “Yeah.”  
   
 “But… what?”  
   
 “I’m…” Haruka sighed. “I’m letting them think about that. Focusing on me. Everyone’s… expecting me to come up with something… amazing.”  
   
 “Haru, you’re the head chef of a five star restaurant. Why do you feel like you can’t?”  
   
 “I can I’m just not… inspired.”  
   
 “Haru-chan!” Nagisa grabbed the other half of the muffin and devoured it without chewing. “You wanna know why you’re not inspired? It’s because you’re boring! You get up, take a bath, do whatever, go to work, clean up, go home, sleep, rinse, repeat. Every day! Well, okay, five days a week… or is it six now?”  
   
 “Six.”  
   
 “See! You do the same thing over and over, and you somehow beg for inspiration to drop in your lap and grind it’s ass on your dick until you cum in your pants—it’s not gonna happen!”  
   
 “But.” Haruka looked away. “I think best when I’m alone. Inspiration comes when I’m alone.”  
   
 “No!” Nagisa huffed. “Haru-chan, Rei says!” He adjusted his non-existent glasses. “The essence of creativity is solitude! Which is true, because if you really wanna nurture being creative you have to spend a lot of time alone, but inspiration—that comes from the world around you! You have to balance that!”  
   
 “Well…” Haruka frowned. “If you know it all, what do I do?”  
   
 “Oh wow, Haru-sass!” Nagisa cackled, noticing the very corners of Haru’s lips turn upwards. “Hmm, well, okay… wanna take a gamble? Gamble for inspiration?”  
   
 “It doesn’t work that way.”  
   
 “I know one way that will make you inspired, no matter what!”  
   
 Haruka leaned forward.  
   
 “But, you have to do something crazy. You have to make today completely different than yesterday, and even tomorrow. If you agree, then I’m going to tell you do so something and you have to promise to do it. You have to. I promise, it’ll change you.”  
   
 “Sounds like… too much work…”  
   
 “It’s so easy! You don’t even have to leave this room.”  
   
 “I’m… listening.”  
   
 “Do you agree to do it?”  
   
 Haruka’s jaw tightened. “Okay. I’ll do it.”  
   
 “Good.” Nagisa pointed to the side. “That door. Third person to walk through it, whoever it is… you kiss them.”  
   
 Haruka frowned. “No.”  
   
 “Do it.”  
   
 “No.”  
   
 “You promised.”  
   
 Haruka sighed. “Just a small kiss.”  
   
 “As long as lips touch lips, that’s fine by me.” Nagisa grinned, leaning back in his seat. He watched the door. The first person who walked in was a man in his forties (Nagisa thought he was pretty cute, but reminded himself that he had enough boyfriends), the second person was a girl in her twenties. Nagisa wiggled with excitement. He could see the fear in Haruka’s eyes and it was _delicious._ But his heart stopped when he saw the third person.  
   
 Haruka was about to get up, but—  
   
 Wrinkles.  
   
 Wrinkles everywhere.  
   
 An eighty year old man.  
   
 Nagisa grabbed Haruka. “Next one. Next one.”  
   
 Haruka breathed a sigh of relief and looked down.  
   
 “Friends don’t let friends make mistakes.” Nagisa hoped to fuck the man’s wife didn’t come in next. But his pink eyes caught sight of the next person to walk in and he smiled. “Haaaruu.”  
   
 Haruka looked up.  
   
 Red hair, tight black skinny jeans, white shirt, black shoes. Wristbands, necklaces. Red eyes. Skin just a touch tanned. He was breathing heavy, cheeks flushed from exercise. He ran a hand through his hair and pushed it out of his face. He had splotches of orange and blue, dried paint, all over him. He grabbed his ponytail, which had mostly disassembled in his run, and tugged it off. His hair became free and framed his face.  
   
 Haruka’s eyes were wide.  
   
 “Go,” Nagisa whispered. “You promised.”  
   
 Haruka swallowed hard. His knees were shaking, but he forced himself up. He took a breath as he walked towards him. The redhead noticed him and they made eye contact. Haru swore the man must have said something, probably a greeting, but the blood pounded in his ears and all he could focus was doing what he promised. His hands were also shaking, but he brought them up, cupping both sides of the guy’s face. He saw the confused expression on the man’s face, but said nothing. He caught sight of those red eyes before he closed his blue ones.  
   
 He brought their lips together.  
   
 The redhead’s eyes widened, but they slowly closed. Without thinking, he hooked an arm around Haru’s waist, leaning into the kiss.  
   
 Haruka could hear his brain pulsate; the loud beating of his heart threatened to shake him. His knees felt weak, and they wiggled, and he feared they would give out. Eventually, Haruka moved away, just enough to open his eyes and look into the red ones.  
   
 “H-Hey.”  
   
 “Hey…”  
   
 “I’m Rin.”  
   
 “H-Haru.”  
   
 Rin grinned, and his sharp teeth were put on display. He forgot the world and leaned in, capturing Haru in another kiss.  
   
 Haru moved his arms around Rin’s neck, pulling him closer. He felt a hand grab his ass, and he grinded his crotch against Rin’s.  
   
 Rin made some kind of feral noise into the kiss as he was about to—  
   
 “Matsuoka!”  
   
 They broke their kiss.  
   
 The manager’s hands were shaking as he yelled, “Third time you’ve come in late! You missed your whole shift, and now you’re kissing some customer!”  
   
 “Ah, uh, um!” Rin moved away. “He kissed me!”  
   
 “I-I did.” Haruka turned to him. “I take full responsibility.”  
   
 Nagisa shot out of his seat. “I dared him!”  
   
 “Yeah!” Rin crossed his arms. “And I’m not even late. Tash’ is covering for me until four, and it’s like…” He pulled out his phone. “Three fifty-two.”  
   
 “Tash’ is covering for you?” The manager glared. “Well she didn’t show up.”  
   
 “Fuck,” Rin hissed. “Well, that’s not my fault, is it?”  
   
 “Matsuoka—you’re fired!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's a day late for updating? Oh well, better late than never. <3
> 
> Please enjoy!
> 
> * * *

 The problem with getting the _really_ nice sears on a pan was that they needed fire. When Haruka dropped the match in the pan—flames blasted to life. They quickly quelled, but Haru turned the meat with the tongs, making sure both sides were charred just right. In the restaurant, they would use the grills that were far better than their small kitchen, but he did his best with what he had. He removed the pan from the element and onto another, only remembering then that the ceramic pan had been weakened over the years. It probably wouldn’t last.  
   
 He squeezed the lime over the fish and then tossed it in the trash. He grabbed the garlic powder, only because he forgot to buy a new bulb of garlic, and added it to the steak. He took in the scent and nodded, liking it. The citrus spice seemed to go well. He wondered if he should add something spicy, when he heard footsteps behind him.  
   
 “Haru…” Sousuke rubbed his eye. “It’s four in the fucking morning.”  
   
 Haru transferred the steak to a plate and moved to the table. “Eat.” He put it down. “Now.”  
   
 Sousuke took a seat and stared at the steak. He took a sniff of the smell and blinked. “Nice.”  
   
 Haruka put a fork and knife down. “It’s a bit on the spicy side.”  
   
 Sousuke cut a bit of flaky fish and put it in his mouth. His eyebrows shot up. “Wow,” he spoke as he chewed, mostly because it was too early in the morning for manners. He swallowed. “Holy shit.”  
   
 Haruka stared. “Is it… good? It’s not marinated enough.”  
   
 “No, it’s great. Fuck great, it’s amazing. Holy shit.” He cut a larger piece and put it in his mouth, almost moaning as he ate. “What is this?”  
   
 Haruka moved to the cupboards, grabbing a small plate for himself. “Shark.”  
   
 “Shark steaks?” Sousuke tilted his head. “Those are expensive, especially if you want that ocean-wise sustainable fishing stuff. Really expensive.”  
   
 “I know.” Haruka turned around and walked to the table. “But if it’s the house special…”  
   
 “You guys already have an expensive house special… but, maybe you could knock that down for this.”  
   
 Haruka blinked. “Is it… better?”  
   
 “Maybe, I mean… I’m not sure what sides you’re going to put with it. It’s also a lot of meat, though, too much.”  
   
 Haruka nodded.  
   
 “I like the sear on the outside, though.”  
   
 Haruka cut half the steak for himself, ignoring his brother’s whining. “Maybe I can cut the steaks in half? No… Kebabs?”  
   
 Sousuke blinked. “Huh?”  
   
 “This much meat could be… four, maybe five kebabs? If we give someone three kebabs, they’ll be satisfied. Save money.”  
   
 “Financially, it’s a good idea. Cut it into cubes and you’ll waste less too. You’ll also get more of the sear.”  
   
 “Yeah.” Haruka tilted his head. “Also take less time to marinate, to cook.”  
   
 “Are kebabs easy to grill? Because you’re the only one who can make the current house special.”  
   
 “It’s easy.” Sort of. Haruka didn’t bother going into cooking specifics for his brother. It was a waste of air. Rei could also make the house special just right. Haruka didn’t bother mentioning that. Waste of air. Haru cut a piece for himself and tasted it. The shark was flaky and crispy on the outside, but a strange mix of soft and tough on the inside. Moist. Citrus flavours rushed over his tongue, with the touch of jalapeno spice. It wasn’t enough spice, though… It would just be enough to turn away anyone who wasn’t into spicy, but not enough to satisfy someone looking for spice.  
   
 “So…” Sousuke looked up. “Inspiration hit?”  
   
 Haruka nodded.  
   
 “Looks like it hit the gold mine. What happened?”  
   
 “I kissed someone.”  
   
 “What?”  
   
 “He… tasted like fire.”  
   
 Sousuke frowned. “Wait, hold up. He? Not she?”  
   
 “Yeah.”  
   
 “And, fire? People can’t taste like fire. Was he a circus performer?”  
   
 “No.”  
   
 “Then what the fuck was he eating before he kissed you?”  
   
 “It was his cologne, I think.” Haruka thought back to the feel of those lips, rough on his. “He smelled… nice. Really nice.”  
   
 Sousuke raised an eyebrow. “Wow, never thought I’d see _you_ like this.”  
   
 “Me neither,” he admitted.  
   
 “But fire doesn’t have a smell, though.”  
   
 “I’ll have to smell it again. And his teeth… sharp, like a shark.”  
   
 “Sounds like a circus freak, Haruka.”  
   
 “Mm.” Haruka finished his plate and smiled.  
   
 Sousuke found it weird his little brother was smiling, but finished his plate as well. “Well, I’m going back to bed. Thanks for the food… Don’t stay up too late.”  
   
 “I won’t. I have to be at Tuna’s early.”  
   
 Sousuke cocked his head. “When?”  
   
 “Four?”  
   
 “In the afternoon?”  
   
 “Yeah.”  
   
 “And that’s early?” Sousuke’s voice was dry. “I’m getting up at seven thirty.”  
   
 “I’ve got errands to run before.” Haruka looked at him. “Also, that guy I kissed?”  
   
 “Yeah?”  
   
 “Well…”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
  _The manager’s hands were shaking as he yelled, “Third time you’ve come in late! You missed your whole shift, and now you’re kissing some customer!”  
   
 “Ah, uh, um!” Rin moved away. “He kissed me!”  
   
 “I-I did.” Haruka turned to him. “I take full responsibility.”  
   
 Nagisa shot out of his seat. “I dared him!”  
   
 “Yeah!” Rin crossed his arms. “And I’m not even late. Tash’ is covering for me until four, and it’s like…” He pulled out his phone. “Three fifty-two.”  
   
 “Tash’ is covering for you?” The manager glared. “Well she didn’t show up.”  
   
 “Fuck,” Rin hissed. “Well, that’s not my fault, is it?”  
   
 “Matsuoka—you’re fired!”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 The three of them stood outside the coffee shop. It had only been five minutes since Rin had gotten fired, but Haruka could tell his mind was running wild. He didn’t blame him. Haruka looked at his feet. “Sorry…”  
   
 “Huh?” Rin turned to him.  
   
 “I… got you fired.”  
   
 “Nah, that place was fucking trash.”  
   
 Nagisa hummed. “The coffee was shit, but the foam was really good.”  
   
 “Well.” Rin put his hands on his hips and looked up. “I was looking for another job anyway.”  
   
 Haruka’s mouth soured. “Did you… find anything?”  
   
 “Nah, not yet.”  
   
 “Could you… wait tables?”  
   
 Rin blinked. “Huh?”  
   
 Nagisa chuckled. “Haru-chan feels responsible, so he’s asking if you can be a waiter!”  
   
 “Yeah.” Rin didn’t look too impressed. “I got that. But, sure, I’ve done it before. Why? You got a job for me?”  
   
 “I work at a restaurant… I know the owner. We have positions to fill, and sooner the better.”  
   
 Rin grinned. “Really?”  
   
 Haruka nodded.  
   
 Nagisa opened his wallet and pulled out their card, knowing Haru would probably forget about it. “Ask to speak to Makoto. ‘Makoto’, got it?”  
   
 “Makoto,” Rin repeated. “Is that the manager?”  
   
 “Manager and owner,” Haruka explained. “I’ll… give him a heads up.”  
   
 “Okay, nice.” Rin’s smile was practically shining. “Thanks, Haru.”  
   
 Haruka felt his cheeks warm and he looked away, knowing they must have been pink at that point. “I… have to go. Work is starting soon.”  
   
 Rin blinked. “This late?”  
   
 “We open in the day, for lunch, and then close to prep… for dinner. I only work evenings.”  
   
 “Nice.” Rin tilted his head. “I’ll uh, hopefully see you around?”  
   
 “Y-Yeah.”  
 _  
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 Sousuke stared at Haruka for a few minutes. “So you… just kissed him, got him fired, then gave him a job?”  
   
 Haruka shook his head. “Has to go through interview.”  
   
 “Well…” Sousuke shrugged. “Whatever floats your boat.” He got up and pushed his chair in. “I think I’d have a heart attack if you suddenly made sense to me one day.”  
   
 “Just go to bed.”  
   
 “Fine.”  
   
 “Tch.”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 Haruka passed by the market, buying what he needed and what Makoto asked him to pick up. Eventually, he headed to ‘O Fortuna’, Makoto’s restaurant (commonly called ‘Tuna’ for short). It was a five star mainly-seafood restaurant. Food critics praised it, people loved it, customers always came back. They had a score of ninety-seven percent on the local food website, a gold medal on another, and high scores everywhere else.  
   
 Haru was pretty sure it was because of Makoto, who understood people so well.  
   
 But he did his job, and let everyone else do theirs.  
   
 For being one of the top restaurants, though, they were never packed. Even on busy nights, at least one-fourth of the seats were empty. It was nice, since there was no stress, but that made Haruka wonder if maybe one-fourth of the seats were unnecessary. Maybe using the space for live performers would be better.  
   
 But, still, it was always better to have too many seats than not enough.  
   
 The kitchen was efficient, and the rest of the chefs were more than competent.  
   
 Everyone seemed to be able to keep up.  
   
 Haruka walked in from the back door, the employee entrance. He entered the kitchen, to find only Rei working on what was probably the last two meals before closing.  
   
 “Haruka!” Rei smiled at him. “Welcome.”  
   
 Haruka just nodded. He put everything in the fridge before putting the plastic bag in the space where they kept them. “Anyone using my workspace?”  
   
 “No. Momo was, earlier, but he left.”  
   
 Haruka glanced over, happy that it was cleaned properly. He ran his hands under the water, washing them thoroughly before setting up.  
   
 Rei walked over, looking over his shoulder. “What will you be making?”  
   
 “I need space.”  
   
 “Ah!” Rei backed away. “My apologies!”  
   
 Haruka hid his smile and grabbed a couple things.  
   
 Makoto stepped into the kitchen, running a hand through his hair. “Haru! When did you get here?”  
   
 “Just now.”  
   
 “Mmm.” He smiled. “You have a serious look on your face, you know?”  
   
 Rei nodded. “He does.”  
   
 Haruka rolled his eyes, pulling out the fish.  
   
 Makoto walked over to him, reading the labels. “Shark, huh?”  
   
 “New recipe.”  
   
 “Huh?” Makoto blinked. “Really?”  
   
 “Yeah.”  
   
 “Haru, I told you to take your time!” Makoto laughed. “But I’m still happy.”  
   
 “I… found it.”  
   
 “Huh?”  
   
 “Inspiration. Kind of.”  
   
 “Kind of?”  
   
 “I have a new idea for a dish, but it’s expensive. So I’m going to try something new.”  
   
 “Doing it here? Not at home?”  
   
 “I need the grills.” He paused. “Also, easier here.”  
   
 Rei knew it must have been something about his family, so he stayed quiet, doing his own thing while they talked.  
   
 “Well.” Makoto smiled. “Just remember to have them cleaned before dinner. Can I watch?”  
   
 “I’m only marinating now.”  
   
 “Aww. When can we taste it? Tomorrow?”  
   
 “Tonight.” Haruka grabbed a knife, cubing the shark steaks. “Can you get me some sauces?”  
   
 “Sure. Which ones?”  
   
 “Soy sauce. And orange juice.”  
   
 Rei blinked. “Can I be of assistance as well?”  
   
 Haruka nodded. “Do we have peppers?”  
   
 “Bell peppers?” Rei cocked his head. “Or like jalapeno peppers? Or salt and pepper peppers? Or peppercorn peppers?”  
   
 “Spicy peppers,” Haruka cut him off before he kept going. “Not jalapenos. Boring.”  
   
 Makoto laughed as he brought both the normal and low-sodium soy sauce and orange juice over. “Jalapeno is boring, is it?”  
   
 Haruka sighed. “You want a dish spicy. Use jalapeno. Ground breaking. Nobody’s done that before.”  
   
 “Haruka,” Rei called out, “We have serrano peppers. They’re a level higher than jalapeno, I believe.”  
   
 Makoto pulled out his phone, quickly searching it online. “Yep, one level above.”  
   
 “Good.” Haruka nodded. “And a lime.”  
   
 Rei brought them carefully over, blinking as he noticed what Makoto brought. “Orange juice? In a marinade?”  
   
 “It’s common, actually.” Haruka didn’t want to, but he knew explaining things to the other chefs was his job. “Orange and lime work well. And I need garlic.”  
   
 Makoto smiled. “Bulbs or powder?”  
   
 Haruka glared.  
   
 Makoto blinked. “What did I say wrong?”  
   
 Rei adjusted his glasses. “The whole garlic is the bulb; the segments are called cloves!”  
   
 “Aha.” Makoto scratched the back of his head. “Well, powder or cloves?”  
   
 “Powder…” Haruka cringed. “I want it easy enough that the chefs at lunch could make the marinade and marinate it before they leave. Powder is easier… quicker, no one fucks up.”  
   
 Makoto nodded. “Fair enough.” He grabbed the garlic powder and offered it.  
   
 Haruka added a few dashes of it to the marinade and then made quick work of the serrano peppers. Everything was added. He grabbed wooden sticks specifically made to survive being immersed in marinade and skewered the fish, making the kebabs. He put them in the marinade, closed the tub, and put it in the fridge.  
   
 Rei’s dishes were done and he quickly added them to plates before walking away to serve them.  
   
 Makoto poked Haru’s shoulder. “So the interviewee is coming soon.”  
   
 “Have fun.” The look on Makoto’s face told him Makoto wasn’t buying his act to look uninterested.  
   
 “Nagisa might have told me what happened, you know…”  
   
 “Damn him.”  
   
 Makoto laughed and hopped on the counter. “Sousuke also called me.”  
   
 Haruka blinked.  
   
 “He asked me if I knew you were gay.”  
   
 “Hm.” Haruka shrugged. “I figured you knew.”  
   
 “I did. It was kind of obvious.”  
   
 “Hm.” Haruka shrugged again.  
   
 “But, then again, we’re almost thirty… and we’ve known each other for that long.” Makoto smiled. “But Nagisa told me your friend was rather cute.”  
   
 Haruka paused, thinking back to—“Y-Yeah.”  
   
 Makoto laughed. “Was he… sexy?”  
   
 “Hnn.”  
   
 Makoto chuckled. “I’m happy, though. I never thought I’d see you go for someone.”  
   
 “Makoto…”  
   
 “Yeah?”  
   
 “Hire him.”  
   
 Makoto blinked, tilting his head. “Haru?”  
   
 “I owe him one.”  
   
 “I know, Nagisa told me, but still… rules are rules. I can’t just hire someone because you want me to.”  
   
 “You owe me one.”  
   
 Makoto blinked again. “What did you do that I owe you one?”  
   
 “I don’t know. But you probably owe me one.”  
   
 Makoto laughed. “Fine.”  
   
 Haruka sighed, relief easing into him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgot to mention last time, last chapter and this chapter were beta'd by ThBlackFlame and Resmiranda13. Special thanks to them. Enjoy the new chapter!
> 
> * * *

 “Widen your stroke; you’re too narrow… You’re wasting too much time breathing, hold it in longer. There we go!” Rin crossed his arms at the end of the pool lane. He was wearing a swimsuit and a tight black shirt. Only his feet were wet from walking around the pool area. “Almost there, bud.”  
   
 Aiichiro slammed his hand against the end of the lane. His eyes went up and he took a deep breath. He slowly tugged off his cap and goggles, dipping his head in the water before bringing it back up. His breathing was heavy, horribly heavy.  
   
 But Rin smiled. It was an improvement.  
   
 Ai pulled himself out of the water, arms shaking as he did.  
   
 Rin offered a hand.  
   
 “I-I’m okay.” Ai smiled. “Thanks, though.”  
   
 “If you say so.” Rin turned away and grabbed the two towels. He grabbed the light blue one and tossed it. “Here.”  
   
 “Ah, thanks!”  
   
 “You’re doing good, see?”  
   
 “Mhm.” Aiichiro smiled wide, clutching the towel. “Are we calling it early today?”  
   
 “Yeah, I got my first day at the new job tonight. The one I told you about? Five Tunas.”  
   
 “O Fortuna,” Ai corrected.  
   
 “Shit.” Rin shook his head. “Yeah, that. Fuck.”  
   
 Ai watched him as he dried his hair. “How do you feel?”  
   
 “Not too bad,” Rin grabbed his own towel and threw it over his shoulder. “I guess, anyway; they said they’re just going to let me watch the first day, get used to the team and the restaurant, stuff like that. Nicer than the last place I worked in, they just thrust me in without any explanation of anything.”  
   
 “Hm, they sound nice.” Ai finished drying up and began walking to the change rooms.  
   
 “Mhm.” Rin followed. “They’re even paying me for it.”  
   
 “Really?”  
   
 “Yep. I’m heading home now, wanna come with?”  
   
 Ai thought about it for a while before shaking his head. “I’ll walk. We cut practice early today.”  
   
 “Okay, but if your legs start hurting…”  
   
 “Yeah, I know. I’ll take breaks.”  
   
 Rin smiled. “I’ll head off then.”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 Rin walked past the large blank canvas and headed into his room. He had been told to change into something semi-formal. After asking eight or nine questions about what that meant, specifically, and what they wanted, exactly, Rin wore black dress pants and a black buttoned up shirt. He tried a red tie, decided it was too formal-looking, then loosened it around his neck. It looked alright. He rolled up his sleeves, but then paused in front of the mirror.  
   
 There was a splotch of orange on his shoulder.  
   
 Oops.  
   
 He got an idea…  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 When he got to the restaurant, it was half an hour before they opened. He introduced himself to one of the waiters, who smiled and led him to the owner.  
   
 “Rin!” Makoto smiled.  
   
 “Hi, uh, Sir?”  
   
 Makoto laughed. “Makoto’s fine, please.”  
   
 “Right.” Rin nodded. “Wait, so… Haru told me this, but I forgot, are you the owner or the manager?”  
   
 “Both, actually.” Makoto’s smile became a little playful. “I know I’m pretty young, twenty-seven, but I seem to be doing alright with this place.”  
   
 “Oh.” Rin grinned. “Yeah, it’s got good reviews and all.”  
   
 “Yeah.” Makoto moved his hand, motioning for him to follow as he led Rin to the kitchen. “My grandma was the one who built this place, then she passed it to my dad, and then he passed it to me. So I’ve been working here since I was really little.”  
   
 “Nice.” Rin smiled, looking around as he tried to make a mental map. “Guess you know how everything works, then, huh?”  
   
 “Sort of.” Makoto grabbed a menu. “Here. Unfortunately, we’re in the process of changing some things… Every five years we do some renovations and fixes, just to make sure we’re up with the times. So there will be some things altered, but I don’t see anything too drastic coming our way. So, some of this will probably change.”  
   
 Rin read through the menu items, glancing to the bottom right. “And these are all the substitutions?”  
   
 “Yep.” Makoto nodded. “We’re pretty clear about what we do and what we don’t, so you shouldn’t run into any trouble… if you don’t know anything, though, you can just ask one of the chefs.”  
   
 “Nice, this is pretty great.” Rin remembered when he last worked as a waiter—one chef would substitute anything, and the other wouldn’t bother, ever—and he cringed. “And the food sounds pretty tasty, not going to lie.”  
   
 Makoto laughed. “Well, all our employees get a discount on everything, just enough to cover the cost.”  
   
 “Wait.” Rin looked at him. “Serious?”  
   
 “Yep. And if we have food we have to toss out the next day, we’ll make free dinner. The food itself is still good, but we just can’t serve it to customers for legal reasons. But, yeah, we don’t like wasting food, so free dinner.”  
   
 “Nice.” Rin smirked. “I do love free food.”  
   
 “Who doesn’t?” Makoto closed the menu with a smile. “I’ve heard you already met our head chef.” He looked to the side. “Haru?”  
   
 Rin followed Makoto’s gaze.  
   
 Haruka was putting on his apron as he turned to them. “What?” His blue eyes drifted to Rin. “Hey.”  
   
 “Hey.” Rin felt his lips tug upwards.  
   
 Haruka seemed to be trying to hide a smile as he looked away.  
   
 Rin noticed Haru’s cheeks tinting red and he was pretty sure he was the reason Haru was blushing. Score. He felt a nudge to his side. “Huh?”  
   
 “I said if you have any questions,” Makoto repeated, “You should ask Haru if you can.”  
   
 “Sure thing.” Rin looked at him. “You’re the head honcho guy?”  
   
 Haruka just shrugged. “I, um…”  
   
 Rin blinked. “Hm?”  
   
 Makoto tilted his head.  
   
 “Forget it,” Haruka muttered, turning away.  
   
 “Don’t worry about Haru.” Makoto glanced at Rin. “He’s a bit of the quiet type.”  
   
 “Mm, I don’t mind.” Rin grinned. “He’s cute.”  
   
 Haruka turned to look at him.  
   
 Rin realised he was in hearing distance. “A-Anyway…”  
   
 Makoto chuckled. “So to put in orders…”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 Although there were some tables empty, it felt like a full house as far as Rin was concerned. He knew he was mostly overwhelmed by the fact that it was new to him, but it was still a lot to take in. He offered to help, and Makoto had said it would be great training. It went well. He had worked as a waiter before, so managing the plates were pretty easy. The chefs had warned him which plates would be hotter and one of the servers instructed him, quickly, how to hold some of the wider plates.  
   
 Overall, it was pretty…  
   
 Good.  
   
 When the night was over, Rin headed to the employee’s bathroom, which was surprisingly clean. After doing his business in washing his hands, he grabbed the paper towel and heard murmurs.  
   
 “Um,” a voice he identified as Haru’s, “Thanks… for hiring him.”  
   
 Makoto’s laugh was airy, carefree, before he replied, “You don’t have to.”  
   
 “But… I asked you to.”  
   
 “His résumé was good, he was polite, and funny, and he smiled. I would have honestly hired him either way.”  
   
 Rin waited for Haruka to reply but nothing came. He finished drying his hands and then left, making sure to turn the light off as he stepped into the small hallway. Both Makoto and Haru were gone, so Rin headed back into the kitchen. It was the widest open space for the employees, so he kind of understood it was the ‘hang-out’ spot? Ish?  
   
 “Haru-chan!”  
   
 Haruka closed his eyes and let out a pained noise.  
   
 Nagisa bounced to the sink and washed his hands. “Look? See! I’m not bad. Make me food.”  
   
 “You don’t work here,” Haruka murmured. “Get out.”  
   
 “Nope!”  
   
 “Makoto.” Haruka looked at him. “Tell your boyfriend to get out.”  
   
 “Sorry, Haru.”  
   
 “Rei.” Haruka glanced at him. “Tell your boyfriend to get out.”  
   
 Rei shook his head. “Neither one of us are capable of such a thing, sadly.”  
   
 Nagisa threw himself on Haruka. “I was in court for six hours today, _six_ hours. And we had two half-hour breaks, so all in all it was seven hours! Please?”  
   
 “No.”  
   
 Nagisa frowned and let go. “Mako-chan…”  
   
 Makoto sighed warmly, but it was a sigh of defeat nonetheless. “We’re going to start putting in orders for employees.”  
   
 Haruka didn’t seem entertained. “Who’s left? How many?”  
   
 “Six of us?” Makoto looked around. “You, me, Rin, Rei, Nagisa, and Miho. Oh, Miho’s not eating here though. She has a date.”  
   
 “Haru-chan!” Nagisa grabbed his arm again. “I want the special.”  
   
 “No. Too much work.”  
   
 Rei smiled. “I’ll do it, if you prefer Haruka?”  
   
 Nagisa clutched onto Rei’s arm. “Have I ever told you how you’re perfect, Rei-chan?”  
   
 Makoto laughed. “What about your new special, Haru? We’ll have enough for four, right?”  
   
 “New special?” Nagisa perked up.  
   
 “We have enough for four,” Haruka affirmed with a nod. “Rin.”  
   
 Rin blinked. “Yeah?”  
   
 “Can you eat spicy food?”  
   
 Rin smirked. “Yep!”  
   
 “Wait!” Nagisa looked around. “Did you say, new special? So you got it!” He grabbed Haruka’s shoulders and began shaking him. “Inspiration! You got inspiration!”  
   
 Haruka snorted, looking away as he couldn’t hide the smile forming on his lips.  
   
 “I knew it!” Nagisa bounced up and down. “I told you kissing Rin was a good idea!”  
   
 Rei paused. “Wait what? Nagisa!?”  
   
 Makoto shook his head. “It’s okay, Rei.”  
   
 Rin scratched his nose, chuckling.  
   
 Nagisa zoomed towards Rin and grabbed his wrists. “Rin-chan!”  
   
 Rin frowned. “What the fuck is a ‘chan’?”  
   
 “I don’t know,” Haruka whispered. “I just… don’t know…”  
   
 “Rin-chan!” Nagisa bounced once. “You should kiss Haru twenty more times to give him plenty of inspiration!”  
   
 Rin blinked. “Inspiration? What?”  
   
 Miho walked in and moved some hair out of her eyes. “There’s only a few customers left, finishing up desserts.”  
   
 Makoto turned to her and smiled. “That’s great. You can head out early if you want.”  
   
 “Alright.” She nodded. “Thank you. See you guys tomorrow. It was nice meeting you, Rin!”  
   
 “Yeah, same here!” Rin offered a wave.  
   
 “Bye!” Makoto smiled at her as she left. “Rin, could you set a table for five?”  
   
 “Sure thing.”  
   
 “And!” Nagisa’s hand shot in the air. “I can help.”  
   
 Haruka frowned. “No.”  
   
 “Okay!” Nagisa put his hands down. “I can sit.”  
   
 Rei shook his head.  
   
 Rin rolled his eyes and grabbed the cutlery and napkins first. He stepped out into the dining area and looked around. He found a table decently close to the water display at the centre and began putting everything in its place. He took a look around the restaurant, and decided he really liked it. He had caught a couple glimpses as he worked and entered, but it was his first time to really… just, look.  
   
 The lights were a little on the dim side, the floor was a dark burgundy-red carpet, and all the furniture was black. All around the room was a constant moving stream of water.  
   
 Rin didn’t know exactly how that worked, but he figured he’d find out eventually. He liked the way the slight, barely noticeable ambient noise of water added to the texture of the restaurant.  
   
 He headed back in and then came back with the glasses. He saw Nagisa sitting at the head of the table and glanced at him. “So,” he said as he put the first cup down. “What’s your deal? What inspiration are you guys talking about?”  
   
 “Well!” Nagisa grinned. “You see, Haru-chan has to make a new menu—well not _just_ Haru-chan, but Haru-chan is the head chef-chan of the restaurant. But he just couldn’t come up with anything, new, fresh, you know? And his big brother is kind of a dick who rains on his parade, so trying to be creative and shit? Yeah. No. Sou-chan’s a big dick, and not the good kind. So I told him he has to do something crazy to get inspired, like kissing a random person who came through the door.”  
   
 “Huh.” Rin chuckled. “I was wondering why someone so… reserved, would have kissed me so randomly.”  
   
 “Mhm… but it looked like a good smooch from where I was sitting.”  
   
 “Oh.” Rin smirked. “It was.”  
   
 Nagisa cackled. “And now that you gave him that kiss, he’s inspired!”  
   
 “Uhh.” Rin scratched his chin. “As much as I’d like to think that, you sure it was me?”  
   
 “Mhm!”  
   
 “Are you a hundred percent?”  
   
 “Ninety-seven,” Nagisa assured. “Oh look, food!”  
   
 Rin turned around. Haruka was holding three plates as he walked towards them. Makoto behind him was holding one plate and one bowl. Rin took his seat and Haruka placed something that looked like a seafood kebab. The bowl that was different was placed between him and Nagisa.  
   
 Haruka sat across from Rin, and Makoto sat between Haru and Nagisa.  
   
 Rei soon joined them with a pitcher of water and sat next to Rin and Nagisa, across from Makoto.  
   
 “So.” Makoto smiled. “Let’s try this.”  
   
 Rin grabbed the kebab and took a bite. The exterior was flaky, just right, and his eyebrows shot up. The inside was warm and moist and filled with flavour—citrus and spicy. It was a weird mix, but it wasn’t half bad. Shit. It was pretty fucking good. Rin took another bite.  
   
 “Wow!” Nagisa said with his mouth full. He had an empty skewer in his hand and his cheeks big and puffy like a chipmunk as he chewed.  
   
 “Manners,” Rei muttered.  
   
 Rin swallowed and laughed. “So what are you eating?”  
   
 “I am a vegan,” Rei explained. “I’ve made a soup with four kinds of mushrooms, scallions, garlic, shallots, tofu, udon noodles, and a few dashes of spices and sauces.”  
   
 “He’s a vegan,” Nagisa said—mouth empty for once—“But he’s one of the best at cooking meat.”  
   
 “Speaking of meat.” Rei looked up. “Haruka, what kind of fish is that? Did you say shark?”  
   
 “Yeah.”  
   
 “Shark?” Rin perked up. “Really?”  
   
 “I really like the flavour.” Makoto smiled. “It’s fantastic.”  
   
 “Yeah!” Nagisa shoved an entire skewer of shark in his mouth then pulled it out clean.  
   
 “Hm.” Haruka shook his head. “Too many flavours… Can’t taste the fish enough.”  
   
 Rei tilted his head. “More water to the marinade?”  
   
 “Hm. Probably.” Haruka poked at his plate, the golden mash potatoes and roasted veggies. “Starch is too heavy with the shark. Something lighter.”  
   
 “Hmm.” Nagisa swallowed. “Rice?”  
   
 “Oh.” Rei blinked. “What about that quinoa wild rice blend? It’s the same price, isn’t it?”  
   
 Haruka glanced at Makoto.  
   
 Makoto nodded. “If we buy it in bulk, yeah. It’s rice so we don’t have to buy it in bulk often, or worry about it going bad anytime soon.”  
   
 “Oh!” Nagisa slammed his hands on the table, standing up. “I get it, Haru-chan! I get it!”  
   
 They all turned to him.  
   
 Nagisa did a little dance with the swaying of his hips. “Rin-chan has sharp spiky shark teeth, and he’s got red hair so it’s like spicy shark! Ha! I’m so smart!”  
   
 Haruka’s face soured and he grinded his teeth.  
   
 Rin stared at him for a moment. “He kind of told me the story.”  
   
 Haruka looked up, blue eyes wide and if Rin didn’t know any better he’d say they were filled with fear?  
   
 “Sorry,” Rei interrupted. “I admit I am currently lost in this conversation.”  
   
 “Okay, okay.” Nagisa grinned. “See, Haru-chan needed inspiration, right?”  
   
 Makoto coughed. “Nagisa…”  
   
 “So I told him he needed to stop being a boring piece of shit and do something crazy—so I told him to kiss the third person who walked through that door!”  
   
 “Third?” Rin blinked. “I was the third.”  
   
 “F-Fourth,” Haru muttered.  
   
 “Oh yeah.” Nagisa paled. “Third was some old geezer… not even my enemies would deserve that, you know?”  
   
 “So…” Rin smiled; and, unlike his usual snarky feral smiles, this one was small, and maybe a little shy. “I inspired you?”  
   
 Haruka nodded. “I… hope that’s okay.”  
   
 “Of course it’s okay!”  
   
 “You’re…” Haruka tilted his head to the side. “Not… bothered?”  
   
 “No way, that’s cool. I’m glad I could do that for you.”  
   
 Nagisa leaned over Rei to stage whisper in Rin’s ear. “Kiss him again. More inspiration. Suck his dick.”  
   
 Makoto stood up, grabbing Nagisa’s hips, and putting him back in his seat.  
   
 Rei tried not to laugh, though the smallest chuckle left his throat.  
   
 Rin stared at Haru, looking in those blue eyes… trying to understand whatever the hell was going on in th—  
   
 Haruka looked away. “Makoto.”  
   
 Makoto turned his head. “Yeah?”  
   
 “Customers.” Haruka motioned to them with the slightest nudge of his head.  
   
 Makoto stood up and offered a small wave in apology. “I’ll get the machine,” he told them when he noticed the debit card.  
   
 Rin watched him head off to deal with the last customer and hummed. “He’s a polite guy.”  
   
 Haruka nodded.  
   
 “He is,” Rei said with the slightest red tinge on his cheeks. “He truly allows us the opportunity to explore our ideas. It’s quite… charming.”  
   
 “Rei-chan,” Nagisa teased.  
   
 Nothing else had to be said before Rei coughed. “A-Anyway. That reminds me, I thought of a new vegan idea.”  
   
 “That’s good,” Haruka muttered.  
   
 “Very,” Nagisa added. “Rin-chan, vegan ideas are very good because we hit two birds with one stone, more vegetarian _and_ vegan options, with one dish!”  
   
 Haruka turned to him. “You don’t work here, Nagisa.”  
   
 “Awww.” Nagisa pouted a little.  
   
 Makoto rejoined them. He glanced over to Nagisa, saw that pout, and couldn’t help but lean over and kiss his cheek.  
   
 Nagisa’s smile came right back. “Rei-chan has a new idea!”  
   
 Makoto blinked. “Oh?”  
   
 “Sort of, I haven’t finalised the idea, but…” Rei hummed. “I was thinking, something like a traditional soup that starts with onions, carrots, celery, the usual, but also sort of like a curry. Like a curry soup, with rice and lentils. Kind of. It’s hard to describe.”  
   
 Makoto nodded. “Well, carrots help with a golden colour, and if you’re thinking like a yellow colour I think it’ll look nice, garnish with parsley, and give it a nice name, it could sell.”  
   
 Haruka tilted his head. “Complicated.”  
   
 “Not too hard, actually.” Rei smiled. “I have to try to translate what’s in my head into words, but I’m thinking of something halfway between a soup and a curry. I think I can do it.”  
   
 Haruka nodded. “Then do it.”  
   
 Rei blinked. “You think so?”  
   
 Makoto smiled. “Of course.”  
   
 Rei’s face flushed when Makoto smiled at him.  
   
 Makoto laughed. “Rin, do you happen to play the piano?”  
   
 Rin blinked as someone talked to him. “Nah, sorry. Music’s not my forté.”  
   
 “You paint,” Haruka muttered.  
   
 “Uh, yeah.” Rin blinked again. “How did you know?”  
   
 “Your shirt.” Haruka smiled. “There’s black paint on it.”  
   
 “Uh.” Rin rubbed his nose. “Yeah, there was orange paint on it this morning and I didn’t realise until I had to leave so I just put some paint on it. I didn’t think anybody would notice.”  
   
 “I didn’t,” Makoto admitted.  
   
 “Neither did I,” Rei added.  
   
 “Oh.” Nagisa cocked his head. “I remembered seeing some paint splotches on you when we first met… but I didn’t see this one. Haru’s got quite the eye—or maybe he’s just got his eyes on you.”  
   
 Makoto used his ‘warning’ voice, “Nagisa…”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 Rin was panting by the time he made it to the apartment. The elevator was on the third level basement floor when he got to the lobby, and he didn’t feel like waiting. So, he ran up five flights of stairs and opened the door. He made sure to lock it behind him as he tugged off his tie. He walked past the kitchen and was about to turn into his studio when his roommate poked him. “Eh?”  
   
 Aiichiro offered a smile. “How did it go?”  
   
 “Good!” Rin grinned. “Really good.”  
   
 Ai tilted his head. “Are you going to sleep soon?”  
   
 “No I’m, I’m energised!” He laughed and moved some hair out of his eyes, feeling the adrenaline run through him. He turned and walked into the studio. He opened a new can of paint and grabbed a couple brushes.  
   
 Aiichiro leaned on the doorframe. “What are you doing?”  
   
 “Painting!”  
   
 “At least take off your shoes, those are expensive.”  
   
 “Right.” Rin kicked them off.  
   
 “Actually…” Ai laughed. “How about I just get you a pair of painting clothes?”  
   
 “Would you?”  
   
 It didn’t take long for him to get changed into clothes he couldn’t give two shits about. He mixed paints, trying to get the colour he had in his mind. “I inspired him.”  
   
 Aiichiro tilted his head. “Who?”  
   
 Rin dipped the wide brush in the pain and swirled it. “The cute chef guy. The one who kissed me?”  
   
 “Uhuh?  
   
 “I inspired him!”  
   
 “Alright, I’m heading to bed.”  
   
 “Night!” Rin found the perfect blue before he started.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Seksee and Resy for beta'ing! Sorry for being a day late, personal life is busy life, but here is chapter four! Please enjoy~!
> 
> * * *

 “Oh my fuck…” Rin was on the couch, lying on his back, staring at the ceiling. His hand was over his tummy, which had been well fed, and he closed his eyes. He yawned. He swore he could fall asleep right then and there, and he probably would have if it wasn’t for his roommate.  
    
 “Rin?”  
    
 “Ai?”  
    
 “Hey.”  
    
 Rin opened his eyes and sat up.  
    
 Aiichiro sat on the other side of the couch. “You seem happy.”  
    
 “Hell yeah I am!” Rin smirked. “Haru made a second new dish! Also inspired by me, and it’s just—fuck, it’s awesome, you know? Like… just knowing, you could give someone the ability to make something, creative. Like, I don’t know. Maybe I’m reading too much into this, but when I paint I can stare at a fucking white slab for fucking forever… and when someone else gives me an idea, gives me inspiration, it’s like all that fucking stagnant negativity goes fucking… out the window so fast! Imagine… imagine doing that for someone, you know?”  
    
 Aiichiro smiled, a little forced. “Can’t really say I understand…”  
    
 “Ah, whatever.” Rin laughed. “It’s an artist thing, kinda.”  
    
 “Honestly, Rin.” Ai stood up. “I’m glad you found someone who understands you. I took a look at your painting, it’s coming along amazing!”  
    
 “Mm, yeah.” Rin scratched his cheek.  
    
 “I don’t get the whole… egg thing?”  
    
 “Huh?”  
    
 “Well there’s like, the big white empty egg thing in the centre.”  
    
 Rin snorted. “No, that’s going to get filled in… I’m working on the background first.”  
    
 “Uhh.” Ai tilted his head. He seemed to hesitate before speaking, “Don’t you usually… not?”  
    
 “Yeah, I prefer forefront, but uh. Well, I kind of want to paint a person in the centre, right? And I need a model for that. I actually asked Haru if he would model for me.”  
    
 “Oh!” Ai perked up. “It’s my mom’s birthday this weekend, so with travel and all that you’ll have the place to yourself for… five days? You could, you know, bring him over.”  
    
 Rin shot out of his seat. “Oh!”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Earlier that night, Rin had learned that the tips were pretty gosh darn good. The food was a little on the pricey side, not enough to be considered an expensive restaurant, but they were higher than average. They were worth every dollar, though. The tips were the usual ten to fifteen percent, although Rin found customers tipped closer to the fifteen percent margin.  
    
 Fucking score.  
    
 There had been a couple mistakes, couple things messed up—some on Rin’s side, some on the kitchen’s side—but the customers were nice and the air was really relaxed. Nothing too drastic happened, luckily. The kitchen was more than willing to fix any problem they made right away, which was always nice to see. Took the pressure off Rin’s shoulders.  
    
 It was pretty good for his third day.  
    
 He could get used to this.  
    
 Makoto did a bit of everything, Rin had also learned. Makoto was rocking the whole ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’ kind of thing. And he was rocking it pretty well. Makoto wanted everyone to know what everyone else was doing, help get the team as cohesive as possible. Rin was pretty sure Makoto’s restaurant was one of those textbook examples of how things should be run, and he was pretty impressed that it worked as smoothly as it did.  
    
 Rin had kept an eye on everything, learning the different roles in the restaurant… although his eyes did end up lingering on Haru.  
    
 He tried to focus, take his eyes off him.  
    
 Texts from Ai helped.  
    
 Ai was a little annoying, but kind of adorable in a little brother way. After his injury, Rin had to make sure Ai was exercising as the doctor recommended. So from time to time he glanced down at his phone. No one seemed to mind, so long as it wasn’t interfering with his job. Anytime he got a text that would need a long reply, he just saved it for when he had nothing to do.  
    
 Rei was also helpful. He guided Rin through a lot of the way things were done in the restaurant, and Rin was thankful. He was a great chef—until Nagisa barged in and almost started a fire.  
    
 Nagisa.  
    
 Rin didn’t really know much about him, except that he managed to steal kisses from both Makoto and Rei, and from what Rin could tell the two of them were totally cool with that. Whatever works, right?  
    
 Nagisa was also a lawyer, and apparently a really good one.  
    
 Rin had a hard time believing it.  
    
 When things were dying down for the night, Rin put another receipt with the others and headed into the kitchen. He glanced to see if there were any more dishes to be delivered, but that looked like that was it for the night. He noticed Rei cleaning up his station, mostly because he forced himself not to look at Haru first, but eventually he let his eyes fall on him.  
    
 Haru was making something, but his movements were slow, careful…  
    
 Rin had almost fallen in love with how they were usually lightning quick and brash, yet perfectly precise. “Hey.”  
    
 Haru paused for a moment, glancing to him, before looking back at his skillet. “Hey. I’m making a new dish.”  
    
 Rin grinned. “Again, huh?”  
    
 Haruka had the smallest of smiles as he nodded.  
    
 “Rin-chan!” Nagisa tackled him in a piggy-back ride.  
    
 “Hey!”  
    
 “Did you kiss him?” Nagisa laughed in his ear. “Did you? Did ya? Did’jya?”  
    
 “N-No.” Rin frowned, grabbing Nagisa’s legs so they would stop flailing. He knew he was fucking blushing but he couldn’t do anything about it.  
    
 “What? Why not?” Nagisa hugged his neck. “Don’t you want to?”  
    
 “Tsk.” Rin scowled. “Of course I want to!”  
    
 Haruka dropped his spoon. “Fuck.” His face burned beet red as he tossed the spoon in the sink and grabbed a new one.  
    
 “It’s like The Little Mermaid,” Nagisa insisted. “You have to kiss the girl!”  
    
 Haruka frowned. “’M not a girl…”  
    
 “But it’s a girl’s name!”  
    
 Rin blinked. “Haru’s a girl’s name?”  
    
 “Haruka,” he muttered. He cleared his throat and then spoke louder, “Rei!”  
    
 Rei turned. “Yes? Oh.” His eyes fell on Nagisa and he sighed. “I’ll make you something to eat if you come here.”  
    
 Nagisa bolted off Rin’s back at a hundred chomps per minute.  
    
 Rin rubbed his shoulder and then glanced to the skillet. “So, what are you, uh, making?”  
    
 “It’s an appetiser, for sharing.” Haruka stiffened. “Tomato sauce, bunch of herbs, tons of feta, shrimp… other things. It’s going to be like a marinara dipping pot.”  
    
 “What are people going to dip in it?”  
    
 “Baguette, I think.” Haruka shrugged. “I’m not too sure. It’s only a half-baked idea.”  
    
 Rin carefully leaned on the counter as he eyed the low blue flame beneath the skillet. “So, if it’s red is it safe to say I inspired you again?”  
    
 Haruka laughed, actually laughed. “Kind of.”  
    
 “Kind of?”  
    
 “I… thought of how you had paint on your clothes.” He motioned to the skillet. “Kind of how the feta are little things in the red. I-I, I know… it’s… dumb.”  
    
 “No way!” Rin laughed. “That’s fucking rad.”  
    
 Haruka looked up, eyes wide. “R-Really?”  
    
 “Yeah.” Rin looked over to see the baguette sliced and ready. “Can I try it?”  
    
 “Too hot. You’ll burn yourself.” Haruka looked down. “After. Thanks.”  
    
 “Thanks?”  
    
 “For… inspiring me.”  
    
 “Well, you know.” Rin felt his cheeks warm. “You kind of owe me one at this point.”  
    
 Haruka frowned. “I’m not… I won’t suck your dick for it.”  
    
 Rin’s eyes widened. “What!?”  
    
 Haruka’s eyes widened too. “N-Nagisa said… that’s what you’d want.”  
    
 Rin grabbed a piece of baguette and threw it across the kitchen—by the divine grace of the gods of gay accuracy, it smacked Nagisa in the face and he fell over.  
    
 “S-Sorry.” Haruka looked down, cheeks burning.  
    
 “N-Nah.” Rin coughed as he looked away. “Um… I was actually going to ask if, if it would be alright if I uh, used you?”  
    
 Haruka looked at him.  
    
 Rin looked at Haru.  
    
 “What?”  
    
 “Wait!” Rin hopped off the counter. “I meant, not like that! As a model! Model!”  
    
 “Model?” Haruka frowned. “What?”  
    
 “Uh! For painting! Art! Brushes!”  
    
 Haruka just stared.  
    
 “One second!” Rin turned around, took a deep breath, then faced Haruka again. “Okay, so I kind of do a lot of painting and stuff. And I was um, I’m working on something and it has a person in the centre, and if it’s okay with you… I just need someone to hold a pose while I sketch them.”  
    
 “Sketch?” Haruka tilted his head. “Or paint?”  
    
 “Well, I, I sketch first. It’s just part of my process; it works best for me, you know? I kind of draw what I want as a rough sketch, then paint it in later. Problem is humans and anatomy and stuff, it helps to have a live model… if you’d be okay with that?”  
    
 “Sure.”  
    
 Rin felt his heart leap into his throat. “Really?”  
    
 “Mhm.” Haruka nodded. “How long?”  
    
 “Uh, well. It’s up to you. I could probably get a rough sketch out in half an hour if you want me to rush, but… I’d probably be comfortable with an hour or two hours even, but I know that’s a huge commitment so you don’t have to… unless, you… want to?”  
    
 “Sure,” he repeated. “But… why?”  
    
 “Well, the thing is…” Rin nervously fumbled his hands together, cheeks turning red. Fuck it, Rin. Just say it. “You kind of…” God damnit Rin—you’re not a fricken schoolgirl! “You inspire me.”  
    
 Haruka’s face was neutral for half a second… before he smiled. And it wasn’t like any smile Rin had seen Haru make before… It was a real smile.  
    
 Rin swallowed hard.  
    
 Holy shit.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Rin waited until Ai left to see his parents for the weekend. While he didn’t mind having the runt around, he wanted his artistic space clear of all distractions so it was only Haru and him. He had already organised the paint buckets (and it was honestly the first time he’d ever organised anything in his studio, ever) to the side and had everything set up. His painting was coming along nicely. Around the bottom corners were coral, a mix of soft colours, from greens to yellows to purples to reds. They were the main contrast to the teal-blue ocean which made up the majority of the painting.  
    
 He was adamant about making the ocean teal-blue, if not teal itself.  
    
 He wanted Haru to be the bluest thing on the canvas.  
    
 “Draw me like one of your French girls,” Haru muttered.  
    
 Rin blinked. “What?”  
    
 Haruka snorted and rubbed his neck. “How do you… want me?”  
    
 “Um. Well!” Rin pointed to the massive canvas and his heart did a backflip high-five when Haru’s mouth parted to whisper the quietest, ‘Wow’. “So the person goes here.” He pointed to the ‘egg’ shaped white space. “So you’re going to be swimming… idly? Floating? I guess? I kind of have a stool there, I figure you could kinda work something out?”  
    
 Haruka noted the stool in question and took his seat. He put his right foot on the lowest rung. His other foot went on the one above that. He relaxed his body. “Good?”  
    
 If Rin pretended the stool didn’t exist, Haru would be floating just fine. He nodded in reply and grabbed his fine pencils. “Are you comfortable?”  
    
 “Yeah.”  
    
 Haruka stayed for over an hour. He didn’t mind. He was perfectly still. He occasionally moved to rub his shoulder or stretch his leg, but he went right back to his pose. Rin half wanted to sell his soul to the devil right then and there. He was perfect. Rin sketched the outline of Haru’s body, managing to even get details of his hair and face. He checked the time a couple times, only because he had gotten to the three hour stage of his sketch… in only one and a half.  
    
 It probably helped that Rin loved looking at the little details on Haru.  
    
 Oops.  
    
 When Rin backed away from his canvas…  
    
 Haruka tilted his head. “Is it good?”  
    
 “It’s fucking perfect.” Rin grinned. “I’ve done all I can do, so there’s only the painting left. You can move now.”  
    
 Haruka nodded and slipped off the stool. “Can I… see it?”  
    
 “Oh, yeah!” Rin backed away. “Come here.”  
    
 Haruka walked across the studio then glanced. A small smile formed on his lips. “I like it.”  
    
 “Y-Yeah?”  
    
 “Yeah.” Haruka nodded. “It’s mainly going to be blue?”  
    
 “Yeah! Blue’s, uh, blue’s my favourite colour actually, so… I like your eyes. Um. And, uh… Okay, I kind of suck at flirting, but, Haru, I kind of like you?”  
    
 Haruka silently snorted as he turned to Rin. “I’m… kind of hungry.”  
    
 “Oh!” Rin puckered his lips and nodded. “R-Right, of course. Ignore me.”  
    
 “We should… eat something.”  
    
 “Oh. T-Together?”  
    
 Haruka’s forehead creased. “I mean…”  
    
 “Yeah?”  
    
 “Um… date.”  
    
 Rin tilted his head. And then it hit him. “A date! You want to go on a date! Shit. Really? I mean, me?”  
    
 Haruka looked away to hide his smile. “Yeah.”  
    
 “I know a place nearby!”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 It was a sushi restaurant, which Rin realised halfway to walking there that sushi was seafood. He asked Haru if he was okay with that, since Haru worked with seafood all day. Haru just smiled and nodded. And Rin swore the little things Haru did had too much power over how much he himself was smiling.  
    
 “Sorry,” Haru said halfway through their date. “I’m… quiet.”  
    
 “That’s cool.” Rin shrugged. “I talk enough for two.”  
    
 Haruka looked away.  
    
 Which Rin understood was usually Haru’s defense mechanism whenever he had a reason to smile. “So.” Rin smiled as he grabbed another slice of sashimi with his chopsticks. “Why cooking?”  
    
 Haruka turned back to him. “I… always liked it.”  
    
 “Yeah?”  
    
 He nodded.  
    
 “Well there’s got to be more to it if you’re making it your like, life career, right?”  
    
 “Well… I cooked for the family when I was younger. Mom worked. Brother didn’t know how… so I picked it up.” Haruka scratched his cheek. “I ended up getting a job at ‘Tuna… ten years ago? Twelve? I was fifteen. I was good at it. Kept doing it.”  
    
 “Nice.” Rin smiled, Haru was opening up to him. “So you’ve known Makoto for a while, huh?”  
    
 “Since we were kids. Same with Nagisa. Three of us have known each other since… forever. Makoto, he’s like… a better big brother.”  
    
 “Talk about ouch.” Rin tossed the sashimi in his mouth.  
    
 Haruka nodded. “Sorry… I don’t, get along with my brother.”  
    
 Rin cocked his head to the side. “Why not?”  
    
 “He… hates art.”  
    
 “Well, he won’t like me.”  
    
 Haruka smiled as he grabbed another mackerel sashimi. “I don’t care.”  
    
 “Awww.” Rin grinned.  
    
 Haruka swallowed and then looked up. “My mom… She was an artist, didn’t make much money. She loved her job, though, but couldn’t finance our schooling.”  
    
 “Your dad?”  
    
 “Died when I was… two?”  
    
 “So… single mom, two kids, doesn’t have all the money in the world—no brainer, right?”  
    
 “It’s…” Haruka looked down at his small saucer of soy sauce. “It’s complicated. A lot of Sousuke’s feelings… are just, built up, solidified… over years of resentment. She did pottery, mainly. She had vases that could have been sold for thousands. Kept them. They meant something to her. Sousuke… wants to sell them, even now.”  
    
 “She won’t let him?”  
    
 “Mine now. She left them to me in her will.” Haruka looked up. “Sorry.”  
    
 “It’s okay!” Rin smiled. “I was the one who asked.”  
    
 Haruka let a small silence fall. “It’s… been hard lately. He sees cooking as art.”  
    
 Rin cocked an eyebrow. “Really? Well, I understand that since you’re designing and making new dishes, but most of the time you’re just cooking right?”  
    
 “Culinary _arts_ is what my degree is in.” He sighed. “It’s not as much of an art as painting or pottery, but when I scrutinise over presentation, making sure the strawberry sauce is drizzled over the cheesecake the right way… it takes some creativity, some aesthetic.”  
    
 “So your brother, just doesn’t understand that?”  
    
 “He’s… an accountant—numbers, facts, ratios. He doesn’t like it when people have to rely on creativity to get paid.”  
    
 Rin stared. “He sounds like a dick. He knows his way and only his way.”  
    
 Haruka nodded. “It wasn’t bad until I went to school for it. Recently.”  
    
 “Oh, you mentioned a degree. Recently?”  
    
 Haruka nodded. “I worked for O Fortuna for… seven years, before they talked to me about being head chef. Makoto was going to inherit the business after he got his doctorate in, business, or management, or whatever. Nagisa had just finished his Political Science degree, so he was going to get his law degree, which took three years. There was a culinary arts program that was four years, but three if I studied during summer. I had the money for it, so Nagisa convinced me to go with him. Same place.”  
    
 “Huh.” Rin smiled, half wondering if this was the most Haruka had ever talked in his life. “Was it worth it?”  
    
 “Yeah.”  
    
 “Really? Well… I’ve been thinking about going to arts school…”  
    
 “Why not?”  
    
 “Well, I don’t know. I have an impressive portfolio, better than any eighteen year old just applying. I’m twenty-five, and I’ve spent most of my time just improving and selling my paintings. I’ve got money saved up for it… from both scholarships I’ve saved up and money I’ve made. But I don’t know. Are art schools even worth it? You know how people always say they’re not, right? What do you think?”  
    
 “I… think so.” Haruka shrugged. “I only know my only experience.”  
    
 “And what was that like?”  
    
 “It wasn’t art, but… I think, I think I learned a lot, not so much through the courses or what I was being taught, but just being forced to constantly perform and to be evaluated, to get feedback… When I was a chef, I just made the same dishes all the time. It forced me out of my comfort zone… But, I think… I think the best part, was just… being surrounded by other cooks, and chef professors, who… Everyone had their own secret, and everyone wanted to share it and show it off. The atmosphere wasn’t something I could get by making food at home, alone, or for a restaurant.”  
    
 “That’s…” Rin grinned. “Cool. That’s actually really fucking cool.”  
    
 The corners of Haruka’s lips curved into a shy smile. “Would it… be alright, if I saw your other stuff?”  
    
 “Yeah!” Rin pulled out his phone and went to his photos. “They all look better in physical, but I’ve got some digital stuff here too. Here.”  
    
 Haruka took the phone and paused. “I’m not going to find dirty pictures am I?”  
    
 “Nah, different folder.”  
    
 Haruka rolled his eyes before swiping through it. His smile faded and his face became neutral as he focused on the images. “Broad style.”  
    
 “Yeah… been trying to branch out.”  
    
 “It’s cool.” Haruka hit the home button, then swiped across the screen.  
    
 Rin stretched his back as he tried to see what Haru was doing. “You’re not sending anyone a text are you?”  
    
 Haruka shook his head before he handed the phone back.  
    
 Rin took it and glanced at it. “Haruka Nanase Yamazaki.” He saw the number and he grinned. “Can I take a pic for your caller I.D.?”  
    
 “Hm.” Haruka cocked his head to the side. “You have a big one of me at home.”  
    
 “Haven’t painted it yet.” He took a picture. “You’re not smiling.”  
    
 “Good.”  
    
 Rin snorted. “Still cute though.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was beta'd by Sekseedragoness. Special thanks to her. Here it is, the finale! Hopefully you enjoy it!
> 
> * * *

 “Rin,” Haru shouted over the endless clanging in the kitchen. “Table five!”  
   
 Rin turned around, grabbing the two dishes. He didn’t even think as he leaned over and kissed Haruka’s cheek. “You’re a fucking life saver.”  
   
 Haruka watched him run out and, for whatever reason, Haru smiled. He grabbed the next skewer and placed it on the grill.  
   
 Rei, next to him, backed away as fire flashed in front of him. “You’re faster than usual, Haruka.”  
   
 He didn’t bother replying.  
   
 “It’s because!” Nagisa yelled, “Sou-chan’s here!”  
   
 Rei gawked. “What are you even doing here?”  
   
 Nagisa wiggled in place. “I’m watching my boyfriend cook with fire—it’s hot!”  
   
 Makoto walked over and grabbed Nagisa’s hand. “Let’s not bother them while they’re cooking.”  
   
 Nagisa pouted. “Fine, but I’m going to need eight smooches from you.”  
   
 Haruka ignored them, focusing on the three dishes he was making at the same time. Today’s special was the shark kebabs, the new dish. It was a huge hit—although the spice was an issue. A lot of people requested a non-spicy version, but it wasn’t possible. It was part of the marinade. Haruka paused, wondering if he could take the peppers out of the marinade, add them on top? He needed something that was optional. A spice? He flipped the halibut fillet grilling and opened the spice rack. He eyed them, found nothing too exciting. Crushed pepper flakes, maybe? No. Too… They just didn’t get the taste across.  
   
 Haru closed the spice rack.  
   
 What if they crushed their own pepper flakes? Wasn’t a hard process. Would that sell?  
   
 Marketing wasn’t his strong point.  
   
 He’d ask Makoto.  
   
 He added the halibut to a plate of wild rice and grilled asparagus. He caught site of Rin again and offered it, along with another dish of ahi tuna. “Table three.”  
   
 “Awesome.”  
   
 Haruka eyed the skewers of shark grilling. If he added red pepper flakes on the shark, the red would look nice on seared fish. Would it? He’ll figure it out later.  
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
 They closed a little early, luckily. Not on purpose, customers just left earlier than usual. That gave them enough time to relax and set up a table for all of them. Rei was happy to unveil his new masterpiece. It was his curry soup, which was a golden yellow colour, garnished with parsley and spring onions, a light and dark green, and a drizzle of cream. Haruka was pretty… impressed, actually.  
   
 “Wow.” Rin grabbed his spoon.  
   
 “Rei-chan!” Nagisa spoke louder than he needed to, “Ten out of ten!”  
   
 Sousuke crossed his legs. “In the looks department. We’ll see how it tastes.”  
   
 Makoto just smiled and stirred it with his spoon. The steam rose for a while before he tasted it.  
   
 Haruka nodded. “It’s filling, but not heavy.”  
   
 Nagisa grinned. “Perfect!”  
   
 “Well.” Rei adjusted his glasses, smirk on his face. “Naturally.”  
   
 “Two new dishes,” Sousuke pointed out, “And no appetisers.”  
   
 “Sou-chan!” Nagisa pouted. “You have to learn to celebrate what we do accomplish.”  
   
 Sousuke scoffed, looking away.  
   
 “And,” Makoto added, “We do have appetiser ideas.”  
   
 “Indeed!” Rei straightened his back. “I was thinking of a flatbread; relatively easy to prepare a large amount, could sell it for a decent price. Decorate it with smoked salmon, capers, thin red onions. A seafood platter to share, yes?”  
   
 Everyone looked at Haruka, and Haru felt somewhat prompted to speak. “We could… have a light layer of a cream sauce underneath? Yogurt-based. Like cream cheese? Lemon-yogurt would work well with salmon…”  
   
 Rei tilted his head. “You don’t like it?”  
   
 Sousuke sighed. “He doesn’t like smoked salmon.”  
   
 Rin put another spoon in his mouth and swallowed. “So just not have it smoked? Like a thin layer of sashimi? And then just light layer of cream cheese to make sure it’s not dry?”  
   
 Haruka’s eyes lit up. “Yes.”  
   
 Rei nodded as well. “An excellent suggestion! Do you also enjoy the culinary arts?”  
   
 “Uh.” Rin shrugged. “Not really, I just thought of sushi ‘cause Haru and I had our date there.”  
   
 Makoto smiled, saying nothing, while Nagisa giggled to himself.  
   
 Rei nodded. “Inspiration comes from life!”  
   
 “Exactly!” Nagisa shot out of his seat and reached for the sky.  
   
 Sousuke glanced at Haru. “What.”  
   
 Haruka coughed. “Yeah.”  
   
 Rin looked between them. “Huh?”  
   
 “This is…” Haruka nudged Sousuke’s shoulder with his own. “My brother.”  
   
 “Oh.” Rin plastered a smile on his face. “Hi.”  
   
 “Seriously?” Sousuke mumbled something under his breath before talking at an audible level again. “This is the guy you’re going for? He’s a waiter and has paint on his shirt.”  
   
 “Hey.” Rin tried to frown but it looked like a pout. “I don’t have any paint on this shirt.”  
   
 Haruka leaned over and poked the spot of red paint right under his collar.  
   
 Rin looked at it. “Oh crap.”  
   
 Haruka swirled his soup and shrugged. “Yeah, he’s the one I’m going for. I like this, Rei… it might be a bit too much rice, though. Serve it with warm, toasted baguette instead?”  
   
 “Yes!” Rei practically bounced in his seat. “I was thinking the same thing—I noticed the rice and lentils together made it feel… not quite like a soup.”  
   
 “And.” Makoto smiled. “Everyone loves dipping bread in soup.”  
   
 Haruka noticed Rin being a little uncomfortable. “What do you think?”  
   
 “Yeah, that sounds like it would be cool.”  
   
 “Oh, well.” Nagisa tilted his head. “We could get some baguette in the back, right?”  
   
 Rei scoffed. “Nagisa, you don’t work here.”  
   
 “Yes I do: I’m moral support. And I get paid in good meals and boyfriend smooches.”  
   
 Makoto laughed. “We do have some in the back though.”  
   
 Haruka stood up. “I’ll do it.”  
   
 Sousuke got up as well. “I’ll help.”  
   
 Haruka sighed, but didn’t say anything.  
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
 “Really?”  
   
 Haruka said nothing as he grabbed the bread. It was closed, airtight, for the night. He reminded himself to close it again as he opened it up and pulled out the baguette. He grabbed the sharp knife and slowly cut it.  
   
 “Don’t you want someone…” Sousuke made motions with his hands, which Haru ignored. “More, to your calibre?”  
   
 “No.”  
   
 “That’s the problem with you.”  
   
 Haruka rubbed his tongue against his upper teeth, pursing his lips.  
   
 “You’re so content with what you have; you never reach for more.”  
   
 “Maybe I like what I have.”  
   
 “Shut up,” Sousuke muttered. “You can do so much better.”  
   
 “You shut up,” Haruka’s voice was barely audible. “All you care about is success.”  
   
 “Of course!” Sousuke ran a hand through his head. “How fucking dumb are you? Results matter.”  
   
 “I’d rather be happy than successful.”  
   
 “I’m sure you’re the first person who ever said that.” Sousuke crossed his arms. “You’re like a kid, fucking eating something when you know it’s bad for you.”  
   
 Haruka closed his eyes, stilling his knife. “Move out.”  
   
 Sousuke paused.  
   
 Haruka squeezed the handle.  
   
 “What?”  
   
 “I said…” Haruka opened his eyes, staring at his brother. “Move out.”  
   
 “What the hell does that have to do with anything? And the house is under my name, Haru.”  
   
 “Only because you’re two years older. You’re not happy there. So move out.”  
   
 “And leave this place to a child?”  
   
 “I’m not a child.”  
   
 “You fucking act like one!”  
   
 “Shut up!” Haruka slammed his free hand on the cutting board. “You’re the one acting like a child—taking everything out on me! It’s all because you can’t understand me, and you could never understand mom! That’s not my fault!”  
   
 “Wha…” Sousuke’s eyes widened before they narrowed, glaring daggers. “What the fuck did you say?”  
   
 “Black and white…” Haruka looked down. “You could never understand her way of thinking. But I could. You’ve resented me for years because of it.”  
   
 Sousuke’s left eye twitched and he walked over. He grabbed Haruka’s collar, yanking him up, before slamming him against the fridge. “You’re a fucking copy paste of her!”  
   
 “And she wasn’t a child, so don’t call me one… just because you don’t understand us.”  
   
 Sousuke had a low growl bubbling in the back of his throat. “Keep her out of this!”  
   
 Haruka looked down. “It must have hurt… to know I had a better relationship with our only parent…”  
   
 “Shut up!”  
   
 “I… know you took art electives in school, so you could try to see what we see… You tried so hard, and I know you must have felt so alone. But you just can’t. And I can’t understand you… Maybe, that’s okay.”  
   
 Sousuke’s hand loosened and the cloth of Haruka’s shirt slipped between his fingers.  
   
 “I have my own way of doing things. So stay out of it.”  
   
 The toaster popped.  
   
 Sousuke looked over his shoulder.  
   
 Nagisa already had an entire slice of toast in his mouth.  
   
 Rin was behind him, cringing. “S-Sorry.”  
   
 Sousuke sighed, leaving.  
   
 Nagisa chomped a bit more before swallowing. He didn’t bother saying anything as he followed Sousuke.  
   
 Haruka relaxed against the cool metal of the fridge. He cupped his elbow, hugging his arm.  
   
 “Um…” Rin walked up to him, tilting his head to the side to look at Haru’s face. “You okay?”  
   
 “I… don’t really know.”  
   
 Rin wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into a soft embrace.  
   
 Haruka’s eyes widened for a moment, before he let his cheek rest on Rin’s shoulder, eyes closing. It was… nice. He leaned into the warmth, pushing his forehead against Rin’s neck. “Thanks…”  
   
 “You’re welcome,” Rin whispered. “Feeling better?”  
   
 “Kind of… Let’s head back.”  
   
 Rin nodded. “Okay.”  
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
 Makoto eyed them both for a while, but Haruka gave him a small nod and Makoto was content with that. Nagisa was radiating with curiosity at four hundred kilometers per hour, but he kept himself back. Rei pretended not to notice, but eventually excused himself and took his leave, giving Makoto and Nagisa a kiss on the cheek each first. Sousuke left next.  
   
 “Hey.”  
   
 Haruka looked up.  
   
 Rin offered him a crooked smile. “Do you want me to go?”  
   
 Haruka blinked. “No.”  
   
 Rin’s lips curved into a smile. “No?”  
   
 “We can… go together. Let’s walk.”  
   
 Rin nodded. “Sure.”  
   
 “Rin, Haru,” Makoto used a playful voice, “Play nice!”  
   
 “Don’t!” Nagisa threw himself forward. “You’ll get new ideas for dishes if you fuck!”  
   
 Makoto sighed. “One step at a time…”  
   
 “Don’t trust him! He’s part of the asexual agenda!”  
   
 Makoto reached down and smacked Nagisa’s ass, causing him to yelp. “Go home, Nagisa.”  
   
 “Asexuals making people sexually frustrated…” Nagisa glared. “Evil!”  
   
 “Go home,” Makoto repeated.  
   
 “No way, I’ll help close up!”  
   
 Haruka shook his head, turning away from them. “Ready?”  
   
 “Yeah.” Rin grabbed his scarf and wrapped it around himself. “It’s like this often, I’m guessing?”  
   
 “Pretty much, yeah.”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 It was cold. Not quite snowing, but it wouldn’t be long until it was there. They were bulked under a couple layers each. Rin looked up to the stars and smiled. “So where’s your place?”  
   
 “I was…” Haruka tilted his head to the side. “Could I come over?”  
   
 “Yeah!” Rin grinned, then coughed. “I mean, sure. I guess.”  
   
 Haruka smiled, but his smile faltered. “I told him, Sousuke, to move out so… don’t really want to deal with him right now.”  
   
 “Mmm, ouch. Yeah.”  
   
 “Was my mom’s house, so…”  
   
 “I see.”  
   
 Haruka shook his head. “Talk about something else.”  
   
 “Um, okay. Uh? Oh! I, I decided to apply. For art’s school. I’m not going to do it yet, I want to put my newest painting in my portfolio before I do.”  
   
 Haruka smiled. “The one of me?”  
   
 “Yeah! It’s, going to be four years though… might take me five, and who knows I might want to keep going after that. But I think I want to do this, you know?”  
   
 Haruka nodded. “Makoto will give you hours around your classes, if he can.”  
   
 “Really?”  
   
 “Mhm.”  
   
 “Shit, he’s such a nice guy. I’m glad I met you guys.”  
   
 “Thank Nagisa.”  
   
 “Well, gotta thank you too. You actually did it.”  
   
 Haruka stopped.  
   
 Rin paused as well.  
   
 Haruka saw the flash of fear in Rin’s eyes and he couldn’t help but chuckle, low, barely audible. He reached up, cupping Rin’s face. He pushed himself on his tippy-toes and brought their lips together. It was warm, and Haru swore the heat went right to his core. He pulled away, seeing a startled Rin—the opposite of the cocky look he’d seen the first time. “Cinnamon?”  
   
 “Huh?”  
   
 “You smell like… fire.”  
   
 “Fire?” Rin snorted. “It’s just like, my body wash has cinnamon, yeah, and like pine, and some other stuff. Oak? I don’t even know. Spices. I’m spicy.”  
   
 Haruka snorted.  
   
 “That… was pretty lame, huh?”  
   
 Haru nodded. “Like a campfire,” he realised. “But… you’re, easy to be around. I like that.”  
   
 “Hmm.” Rin chuckled. “Is that a nice way of saying I’m a loser and you appreciate it?”  
   
 “Yeah. You were, intimidating at first. I was… scared you wouldn’t like me.”  
   
 Rin blinked. “You’re so fucking dumb.”  
   
 Haruka laughed, looking away. “I guess I am.”  
   
 “So, what are we then?” Rin shifted his weight onto one leg. “Am I your boyfriend?”  
   
 Haruka raised his eyebrows. “Boyfriend?” He blinked. “Yeah… I like that. A lot.”  
   
 Rin leaned over, kissing him again.  
   
 Haruka’s fingers curled against Rin’s sweater as he leaned into the kiss.  
   
 Rin pulled away, but slipped his arms around Haru’s waist, keeping them close. “You know… I’m kinda worried. That I might not, like, find my way?”  
   
 Haruka stared.  
   
 “I’m twenty-five and I got some stuff but—”  
   
 “Don’t,” Haru hushed him. “Take your time… Nobody needs to have anything accomplished before they’re twenty five, even thirty. It helps, but some people bloom later… that’s okay too.”  
   
 “Yeah?” Rin’s smile was shy. “But I mean, what am I even going to do? Later?”  
   
 “Maybe… we could hang some paintings in the restaurant.”  
   
 “Huh?”  
   
 “Would help with ambiance… Maybe someone, a customer, will notice.”  
   
 “I guess that works—like, the people who do come usually have more money in their pockets, you know?”  
   
 Haruka nodded.  
   
 “But would Makoto be okay with that?”  
   
 Haruka pulled out his phone. “I’ll message him.”  
   
 “H-Hey! Wait!”  
   
 “Take a chance,” Haruka muttered. “That’s how I met you, right? Just a gamble.”  
   
 Rin pulled away and scratched the back of his head. “I guess… But I mean, that’s what Nagisa said. Do you really trust that squirt?”  
   
 “Sousuke is a logic person,” Haruka muttered, “Makoto and Nagisa are people persons… people, people? Whatever.”  
   
 Rin snorted.  
   
 Haruka smiled and looked up. “We’re art people, I guess. Put trust in them for what they’re good at, and they’ll be able to put trust in us for what we’re good at.”  
   
 “Wow.” Rin blinked. “Kinda deep.”  
   
 Haruka reached up and grabbed Rin’s scarf. He pulled it off, stealing it, and wrapped it around himself.  
   
 “Hey!”  
   
 Haruka smiled and hugged his arm. “Let’s keep walking.”  
   
 “Loser.” Rin leaned over and kissed his head. “Mm, but you’re right. It might take us some time to get there, but we’ll be okay.”  
   
 “You, me, Nagisa, Rei,” Haruka spoke low, “Even Sousuke and Makoto. All of us. We’ll be okay.”


End file.
